Friday, May 26, 2017

Did
anybody recognize this hymnline when it first came up? It is from a
hymn you have probably sung at some time – one by the same man who wrote
“Amazing Grace.” I guess like all hymn authors, some of them stick, and
others don’t!

But
what a wonderful picture Newton sketches for us: a "never-failing
treasure filled with boundless stores of grace.” You picture it in your
mind, don’t you? That treasure chest (like the kind Jack Sparrow placed
one foot upon in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) simply overflowing with more
doubloons and jewels than it can hold. But the riches here are not so
tangible. Newton goes back to that amazingness of grace and stacks it
high to overflowing from its never-failing, never-ending Source – that
Jesus whose name sounds so sweet in a believer’s ear… soothing sorrows,
healing wounds, driving away fear, giving wholeness to wounded spirits,
calming the troubled soul.

This hymnline is surrounded
by lots of Christ-descriptors: rock, shield, hiding place, manna,
prophet, priest, King, Lord – my life, my way, my end. So full of
imagery and solid theology. My goodness, they don’t write them like that
anymore!

Ever try to picture grace? I could direct
your attention to the cross of Calvary… or I could remind you of that
overflowing treasure chest. Both are pretty good images to bring up when
I forget how grace-ful my Christ is.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Eureka! This expression of delight at finally succeeding
would be a great word to begin this hymnline; if it had another syllable, Clara
T. Williams might have chosen it. Not that the word “hallelujah” isn’t a
wonderful word for use in hymns, but “eureka” gets to the point of the
excitement of having found that which has been long-sought.

Do you ever have a craving… an insatiate desire? Some people
say they crave chocolate, but what they mean is “I’d sure like to have
something that originated in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about now.” I’ve learned
that whatever food for which I suddenly have a craving will be one that is not
in our cupboard or fridge! I sometimes get a hankering for a Boberry biscuit –
a decadent, sugar-drizzled breakfast item we learned to love from Bojangle’s
fast-food restaurants in North Carolina. One of the reasons I can almost smell
and taste that morning treat is that I know I cannot have one now that we’ve
moved to the Bojangle’s-less state of Texas.

That’s how those kinds of yearnings usually turn out:
unfulfilled.

But when our souls hunger and thirst for God, they are
totally satisfied; God’s cupboard is well-stocked with all the spiritual
blessings we can think of… and he knows exactly which shelf they rest on in
order to get them to us quickly.

Jesus tells us in the beatitudes of Matthew 5 to hunger and
thirst after righteousness. If we understand righteousness not as some condition
of perfection but as the state being rightly related to God in Christ, it is
not only something we might crave: it is a craving we can gratify. It is a
positional relationship, not a conditional one.

Robert Browning said, “God’s in his heaven, all’s right with
the world.” Great quote, of course. Better yet, “God’s in his heaven, and all’s
right between him and me.” I find that to be a much better view of what
righteousness means.

I can easily sing the refrain of this gospel song and mean
it. Whether I say eureka or hallelujah, it is true of my own personal,
spiritual longing… because the next line says, “Jesus satisfies my longings.”

Today, may you be given the deepest desires of your heart.
Can I get an “amen”? Or a “eureka”?!

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

You may not be familiar with this prayer hymn based on a Philippine
folk song. It has appeared in more recent hymnals, but as fewer congregations
refer to those pew books, it may well be overlooked. This hymn-line is,
however, worth visiting.

Originally written as a children’s hymn, the refrain is
simple, child-like… almost ‘cute’:

Praise to God, Fount of love, praise from
morn till set of sun,

Praise at home, praise at church,
praise to God ev’rywhere on earth.

Today’s hymn-line is the final one of the last stanza: With upright heart I give tender care and
sympathy. I am attracted to this poetic sentence because we sometimes
confuse the terms “caring for” and “taking care of.”

It is possible to take care of someone without truly caring
about them. In other words, we may be in a position to help someone – to take
care of their needs – and do it passively, perhaps out of duty… or even because
we are paid to do so. Our attitude may be “Well, somebody has to do it!”

However, those who take care of someone while truly caring
about them are wonderful examples of the way Christ taught us to serve others.
These are those who connect with the person in need, have compassion on them,
and take care of the situation to the best of their ability.

For me, the best example of this may be at your local
hospital: nurses. Having spent many hours in hospital rooms with both my
parents, my wife, and friends and family members, I have observed some on the
nursing staff who breeze in, tend to the needs of the patient, and quickly move
on to the next. They do the job for which they are paid… and they do it with
great proficiency.

On the other hand, we have all witnessed the nurse who
treats the patient with great interest, who speaks to them with kindness, who
truly cares for the person… not just their immediate health
needs. These are the ones who (whether they realize it or not) are following
that example of the Great Physician… the
sympathizing Jesus.

To be this kind of caretaker, humility is required. Time is
required. The ability to identify-with is required. Unhurried, sincere attention
is given, and the result is more healing than the aforementioned laissez faire approach.

I saw this so much during my mother’s final visits to Fort
Sanders Presbyterian Hospital in Knoxville. Those round-the-clock nurses truly
cared about Hedy Huff; they liked her and enjoyed her; they went out of their
way to be sure she was well cared for. I flew in from Denver and arrived at the
hospital just a few minutes after my mother had died and was met as I stepped
off the elevator by my daddy, other family members, Preacher Cope… and several
weeping nurses. It was at that moment I realized the difference between “caring
for” and “taking care of.”

If you ever have opportunity to sing this hymn, I hope you’ll
remember this little blog post. And the next time you see someone giving
care-full attention the needs of another, thank them for it. Then go thou and
do likewise!

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

This hymn has a recurring phrase that ends many of the
lines: “Thanks be to God!” It’s a phrase many of us say every Sunday morning in
response to the statement, “This is the Word of the Lord.”As we sing this great hymn, it becomes our
repeated common proclamation.

“For the wonders that
astound us, for the truths that still confound us,

most of all that love
has found us, thanks be to God.”

“Nothing surprises me anymore,” I hear people say often. When
we get to the point that we are beyond being amazed, astonished, or even
flabbergasted, we have stepped outside that realm where God can still astound
us… where our reaction can still be awe – even child-like wonder. The great
mysteries of God still throw me a curve; I am rarely involved in serious Bible
study or theological conversation when I don’t have a flash of amazement. It’s that mystery
that keeps me coming back for more. I don’t even WANT to discover all the
answers; I want to keep digging and learning, and growing from what I find.

The truth we discover can confound or befuddle us. In fact,
it probably SHOULD stupefy us and cause us to stand astonished. Knowing the
truth and letting it set us free: what a goal for those of us who are
God-seekers.

As Fred Pratt Green concludes, we should be most astounded
and confounded by the fact that love has sought us out – that God has been
worshiper-seeking (John 4:23), and we have been found. It’s like a grand game
of hide-and-seek in which WE were hiding, love was seeking.

For all this, we say as if prompted by Sunday’s lector, “Thanks
be to God.”

Thursday, May 18, 2017

In describing this deep, deep love of Jesus, Samuel Francis
uses some great descriptors:

Tuckaleechee Caverns - Townsend, Tennessee

·Vast

·Unmeasured

·Boundless

·Free

·Mighty

·Full

·Underneath me

·All around me.

I suppose we can’t talk (or write) enough about the love of
Jesus; obviously, we can’t sing enough about it! It is, you recall, something
that only his loved ones know. Beyond
explanation or comprehension, the love of Jesus is in every way too precious to put into words! But we keep
trying, we who think "the ink of the writer is more
powerful than the blood of the martyr."

In my part of Tennessee, we have lots of
caverns – incredible creations of God turned into tourist attractions. These
made for wonderful field trips during elementary school days. Nothing quite as
grand as Carlsbad, but every bit as fascinating. Most were inhabited at one
time long ago by native Americans which added to my personal interest in them,
even as a child: age-old smoke stains still clinging to the ceilings in the
large ‘rooms.’

After paying a modest fee, we would begin
our descent into the lower regions of the earth, following a guide dressed in a
faux park ranger uniform. We’d finally arrived at the end of the tour, and he
would flip a light-switch and plunge us into deep darkness. That was my least
favorite part, by the way! It was realizing among all those stalactites and
stalagmites that I was deep inside the planet – that’s what I loved.

Those are the memories which come back to me
when I sing this hymn about the deep, deep love of Jesus.

But today’s hymn-line that Jesus ever, ever
loves and never, never changes – this is the one I am drawn to. I admit that I
wonder if the writer borrowed that nevermore word from Edgar Allen Poe!
Even if he did, I love his use of it here.There is something about the always-ness of
God that attracts me to him and in turn, causes me to try to attract others to him.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Hymn: “O That Will Be Glory” – Words and Music by Charles H. Gabriel (1856-1932)
Tune: GLORY SONG

We
all seem to have some preconceived notions of what heaven… or glory… is
going to be like. Some of these are based on scripture, some on
traditions, some on hymns and gospel songs, and some are just based on
what we ‘want’ it to be like.

The man who wrote such
hymns as “I Stand Amazed in the Presence” and “In Loving-Kindness Jesus
Came” draws a poetic picture here of what he anticipates by the closing
line of the chorus: “When by his grace I shall look on his face, THAT
will be glory for me.” You may have heard me say before that the one
thing we agree on about heaven is being eternally in the presence of
Christ… that “face to face with Christ my Savior” kind of event.

This
certainly holds true in this hymn. The three things Gabriel looks
forward to are 1) being near the dear Lord he adores, 2) looking on the
face of Jesus, and 3) finding on that face an endearing,
glad-to-have-you-home smile. I have to admit that I concur.

One
of the best things we can share with another is a smile – a genuine,
heart-felt smile. Many a teacher, coach, parent have shown approval by
nothing more than a nod and a smile. Nothing seems to communicate “good
job” any better – no trophies, no ribbons, no gradebook entries.

And
from the Savior of humankind, we all would like to hear the “well done,
good and faithful servant” commendation; but mostly, we want him to
lower his chin a bit and show his teeth through the upturned edges of
his lips.

Meanwhile, it is our calling in this life to
bring joy and a sense of value to those we encounter throughout the day,
especially those whose station in life may not be brightened by very
many smiles – the waitress, the grocery checker, the janitor, the bus
driver, etc. Those who serve us are often the least appreciated and are
least-often the recipient of a smile and the words “good job.” Unto the
least of these, we need to constantly BE the presence of Christ. Then we
can enjoy HIS smiling face all the more, and that will be glory.

Friday, May 12, 2017

Unless
you are a hermit or a real loner, you will agree with this hymnline
because few of us can exist without some kind of human affection – from
spouses, family members, close friends, folks at church, people with
whom we work, etc. We know the warming effect of someone’s entrance into
the room and that racing-forward smile when you greet someone special
at the airport… just outside security, of course!

I
think it is a universal emotion: love. While all cultures do not base
their marriages on love, those people MUST have others they care about
and enjoy – someone without whom they could hardly exist. This
world-wide finding joy in the reciprocated fondness for another human is
at the heart (no pun intended) of our relishing this life promised to
us in abundance.

In these joy-based relationships, we
don’t fear one another. Instead we have gentle thoughts and mild
reactions. This gentleness and this mildness are peaceable, calm, kind,
pleasant; one of the synonyms is “easy-going.” In other words, we don’t
have to constantly work to keep these affiliations intact; such
connections become a natural part of who we are and who THEY are.

Some
of us have found a life-mate whose presence brings us this kind of joy.
We are fortunate indeed to have joined our lives with theirs... and in
some cases attached ourselves to the larger loving pool of their family.
Some have bound themselves through other means and avenues of friendly
interaction. If you fall into either of those categories, you need to
sing with confidence the line which follows in this text: “Lord of all,
to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise” – because these
loving relationships are God’s provisions, and they have been rationed
out in just the right proportions to keep us ever happy and ever
blessed.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Unlike
many of my choices, this is not from Crosby, Wesley or Watts. This one
is more like something from Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Written
by a member of Love Song, the first Christian rock band to achieve
success, this quiet, calming early chorus-style hymn is one many us
remember singing at camps and rallies in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
This hymnline is an admonition to worshipers, encouraging a freed-up
response to the Presence.

You all know by now that I’m
pretty straight-laced when it comes to congregational singing,
preferring the sturdy to the slight. Over the years of exposure, I
realize that bits and pieces of some of the less-than-sturdy texts and
tunes have invaded my memory bank, and that these – like the hymn
fragments upon which this blog is based – come to the forefront at times
when I need their self-contained brief messages. THIS is one of them.

Generally
speaking, we traditionalists are a timid people when it comes to our worship. We are
likely to be more constrained than we are to be uninhibited… more
guarded than outwardly expressive. This text calls us to release
ourselves and speak/sing our truest feelings about God and to God as we
worship privately and corporately.

My attempts to “maintain” during worship may disallow me from releasing my praise.

We – you and I – need to be sure we don’t allow the
spiritual straight-jacket of our upbringing or our style preference to
hold us back from letting God see and hear our real self.

This doesn’t
necessarily mean we have to dance about the room and cast off our
clothing a la David in the Old Testament (2 Samuel 6) – nor does it mean
we have to raise our hands or sway back and forth like the audiences on
AMERICAN IDOL. It does mean that our best worship happens when we don’t
hold back from God the best expression of our truest feelings.The person
next to us need not know how immersed we are in the experience, and we
certainly shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves, whatever form our
expression takes.

For me, you may not see it on the outside with raised hands or dancing
feet, but I just may be “letting myself go” on the inside. After all, if
my worship is truly for God, what he sees and knows is more important
than what YOU see and know!

In our worship, we have to some
extent built up prison walls around ourselves, punctuated by razor-wire
that insures our security. It may be time to step out of our
confinement… to put our San Quinten behind us. This could become a
break-out experience for us. Willing to give it a try?

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

“He for conflict fits and arms us,Nothing moves and nothing harms usWhile we trust in him.”

This
is not a line from “Onward, Christian Soldiers” or one of the more
militant hymn texts. While it may have had some battle implications when
Thomas Ken penned these words, their application works for us in our
everyday lives which, like it or not, are filled with conflict – some
great, some miniscule… but often at the moment seeming insurmountable.

We
have put on the whole armor of God from Ephesians 6, haven’t we? Aren’t
we dressed head-to-toe with the belt of truth, vest of righteousness,
shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the
sword of the Spirit, and prayer? According to Paul’s letter, these will
make it possible for us to stand firm in the midst of all kinds of evil.

We
have been well-suited to our environment. We are tailor-made to be
God’s people – fearfully and wonderfully constructed. We need to look to
our strengths (above) and not hide behind our weaknesses. Nothing can
move us entirely off-balance because we are planted firmly in our
relationship with our Designer. We may get roughed up a bit – even
injured in the conflict – but no spiritual harm will come to us while we
trust in him.

When I got up this morning, I didn’t go
looking for conflict; but it always seems to find me! You probably feel
the same way. Well, let’s agree not to let it defeat us. Let’s hold up
under the struggle, believing that the Tailor has clothed us well. His
armor is a perfect fit.

Friday, May 5, 2017

First,
let me say that I love this hymn text… set to most any tune. I
especially love John Rutter’s setting (see below). I always enjoy
singing it and love what it has to say. However…

For
those of us who are not so bright and beautiful, I want to say that the
Lord God made US all, too! “All things dull and hideous” would not make
nearly such a great hymn title, but the Lord God did make them/us all.

I
know it’s a children’s hymn about nature and not human-kind, but admit
it: all of God’s creatures great and small are not all that lovely.
Let’s talk about alligators, naked mole rats, blobfish, and Madagascar’s
aye aye. Did you ever see a close up of a California condor? But the
Lord God made all those, too.

Now that I think through the text, all of us aren’t all that wise and wonderful either.
Some of us are dim-witted and average-ish. The good thing is that most
of us are bright in our own way and beautiful to someone.

Fellow
not so bright, unattractive, everyday folk: we were designed by God and
cared about just as much as the most brilliant Homo sapiens and the
most striking flora and fauna. This hymn is about all of us; we only
sing about the attractive living things.

I’ll remove my tongue from my cheek now so I can sing this wonderful hymn!

Thursday, May 4, 2017

I think I would have enjoyed getting to know Fredrick Faber.
First of all, he was British, so I’m sure he was fascinating… had probably
visited Downton Abbey. He was a deep-thinking theologian, and his
thoughtfulness is obvious in a couple of his other hymns: “Faith of Our Fathers”
and “My God, How Wonderful Thou Art” for instance. I would love to have had tea
with him and been able to discuss theology!

This hymn overflows with pithy one-liners; it is packed full
of thought-out truths, versified for singing. The first stanza is worth the
price of ticket:

“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the
wideness of the sea.

There’s a kindness in his justice
which is more than liberty.”

Woah! As I often say, “I wish I had written that!”

But today’s hymnline is so on-target and speaks such a loud
message to the church today… a century and a half later. The limiting of God’s
love is of our own doing; the boundless love which Scripture teaches has been
pulled back and boxed in by humankind, and exclusion has replaced inclusion.
This troubles me a lot… a whole lot! Where in Holy Writ do we find a teaching
of Jesus that tells us to draw a line outside which the love of God is not
available? I don’t find it.

This hymnline is followed by an even more cautionary
thought: “And we magnify his strictness
with a zeal he will not own.” Read that again and ponder for a moment those
times when we as individuals and congregations and denominations have made way
too much of the vengeful, angry, strict… even bullying… God, and forgotten to
magnify his loving, forgiving, grace-filled nature. We’ve done it (according to
Faber) with a fervor that God himself will not allow.

I know I’ve “gone to preaching” here, but this is one of my
tallest soapboxes! And this grand old long-dead English poet-theologian
verbalizes it so very, very well. If I had the opportunity to sit down to tea
with him, I think his spirit would agree with my spirit, and I’d have to say, “You
go, Fred!” He’d laugh, I’d blush – then we’d talk more about the nature of God
in Christ Jesus.

“Father, forgive us for magnifying your strictness when we
KNOW you are a merciful, kind, open-armed Deity. Teach us a lesson from this
hymnline. Amen.”

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Gospel
songs like this one which sound a little more like a skating rink or an
amusement park carousel than Sunday morning worship must have been
quite popular in the 1950’s because we sang this one a lot. It was sort
of a ‘go-to’ song… maybe like “Shine, Jesus, Shine” has been for the
past few years.

For me, this song takes me back to
Pigeon Forge First Baptist Church and the carefree singing of a text
about people who are “weary and sad.” Fortunately, there wasn’t a
disconnect there when I was a child; but the words stuck in my mind… and
hopefully in my actions!

A lot is said about churches
that spend more time on the social gospel than they spend on the
evangelistic gospel. Anyone who knows me will have heard me say that the
church should reach up (in worship), reach in (through
fellowship/discipleship) and reach out (with missions and ministry). I
compare it to a three-legged stool like Ma Huff used to sit on to milk
the cows; the three legs kept her stable and flexible. The healthiest
churches are those who cover all three of those areas fairly equally…
neglecting none of them.

A part of the third ‘leg’ is
helping those in need. This hymnline is succinct in its call to us: “Be
to the helpless a helper indeed.” It may remind you of an oath made by a
Boy Scout, but it is definitely a call to those of us who have decided
to follow Jesus.

Quite honestly, it is easier to help
those who have not yet totally reached rock bottom. Helping the truly
helpless – that requires our humbling ourselves and arriving at the
servant-place to which Christ was willing to stoop in order to conquer.

Want
to really minister? We probably need to be on the lookout for the truly
helpless… and they are legion! When we discover these types, let’s not
just refer some local ministry to follow up on them with food, shelter
or counseling. Let’s take time out to share our life with them – not in
order to report our adventure to our Christian compadres, but to BE
Christ to those who have no one else to go to bat for them.

Monday, May 1, 2017

This new hymn (1972) is one you may have not sung,
especially if you are in a projector-driven service where for the most part
only the hymns with familiar tunes are included. Even so, this one would be
worth teaching to any congregation and making it as familiar as “How Great Thou
Art”!

It’s common lack of use notwithstanding, Fred Pratt Green's hymn is filled
with wonderful phrases about worship – especially the musical elements. It
ranks right up there with “Fill the Earth with Music.” :) … or perhaps it’s the
other way around!

This hymn-line drives home a very, very important truth
about what happens when engaged in acts of adoration – or worship: there
is no room for the ego! My personal pride must be set aside in order that I can
express how proud I am of God… how much he is revered… what a high value we
place on him. In order for him to be magnified (increase), I take the place of
humility (decrease). See John 3:30.

To put that into the language of music, I must decrescendo
so he must crescendo!

There is no place for show
business in the worship business. Entertainment is not
commensurate with a spirit of sincere worship. I am startled by it every
time I sing this hymn; fortunately the congregations I have led most
recently have known and
appreciated this hymn. It is one I catch myself singing on my own – a
lot
actually – because I need to be reminded of this as much as anyone:
hubris and
holiness are not compatible.

It doesn’t mean that my personal tastes must be set aside in
order that the person down the pew from me can exercise his/her preferences. To
me, this says that when we approach the throne together, we ALL have to ‘check
our pride at the door.’ The narthex of every church in the world this morning
should be stacked to the ceiling with pride-backpacks left there by those who
have entered the sanctuaries/worship centers. Perhaps we need to install a
pride-check closet instead of a coat-check closet!

You’ve heard the phrase “my pride and joy”? In worship,
these two cannot genuinely coexist. We should be going after a pride-less joy. It
could revolutionize corporate worship, especially if all of us in the room –
the leaders and the participants – all of us set aside the deadly sin* of pride.
When that happens, I think the adoration that emerges might be unprecedented, overwhelming.

It is a more exciting thought that I can get my mind around.
I’m sincerely waiting for that to happen one Sunday morning – maybe even this week.

* The seven deadly sins are: wrath, greed, sloth, pride,
lust, envy, and gluttony. Most would say that pride is at the root of the other
six!

Hymnlines - Hemlines: Get it?! :)

About Me

A native of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, went to high school with Dolly Parton... and am still friends with her sister Stella who was "most talented" with me in our graduating class of 1967! Was a Southern Baptist for most of my life,am currently affiliated with Cooperative Baptists. Have worked in Baptist and Presbyterian churches - basically consider myself a Baptiterian!

Love words (texts). Am a published hymn-writer, anthem-text writer and composer. Into live theater, museums and antique stores. Enjoy good movies and PBS dramas.

Married to Carlita - Two bonus sons: Dustin,and Clint and his wife Sherry with our two grandsons Kyle and Carson who just happen to live close by!